1. Field of the Invention
Portable Power Driven Wire Puller.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the electrical contracting field it is necessary to draw electrically insulated wire through conduits that may already have a group of parallel wires therein. The friction encountered in pulling additional wires through conduit that already has wires therein is substantial. To prevent additional wires in conduits being broken as they are pulled through conduit, an elongate steel but resilient fishing tape is forced through the conduit, and the wire to be pulled through the conduit attached to a free end of the tape.
The tape is now pulled in a direction to remove it from the conduit, and in so doing the wire attached to the tape is drawn through the conduit. However, on long runs of conduit, such as occur in high rise buildings, a number of electricians and electricians helpers may be required to pull the tape through the conduit. This operation is not only disagreeable to perform, as it is difficult to grip the tape so that the hands of the electricians will not slip relative thereto, but frequently a person's hands will be cut in this process. Also, this operation is expensive, for it can be performed only at a slow pace, and the time of a number of electricians and their helpers will be used up in performing the same.
A major object of the present invention is to provide a power operated device in which the fishing tape is stored within the confines thereof, with the tape capable of being drive from the device to move longitudinally through the conduit until it extends from the free end thereof, and wire being removably attachable to the free end of the tape to be drawn through the conduit as the tape is retracted into the device.
Another object of the present invention is to supply a device sufficiently light in weight as to be carried by the user thereof by a sling that extends over his shoulder, and with the device being actuated by electric power from a conventional outlet plug or box.
A still further object of the invention is to supply a device in which the tape has longitudinally spaced gripped between power rotated gripping means, and the force exerted by the gripping means being adjustable by the operator.
Yet another object of the invention is to supply a wire pulling device that is capable of being used for its intended purpose by a single person, and as a result the number of persons required to draw a wire through a long run of conduit being minimized with a consequent saving of both time and money.